|
Columbia
County Attractions
From the flash
of a white-tailed deer in a clearing, a thousand Canada
geese blackening the sky, to trophy bass and trout on the
fly, the outdoors comes alive in Columbia County. With 11,00
acres of lakes, 16,000 acres of public hunting land and
wildlife areas, 49 miles of trout streams, 27 boat landings
and 3,000 campsites, Columbia County brings the resources
and beauty of Wisconsin's Northwoods close to home.
In spring,
Columbia County's five public golf courses are lush and
uncrowded, and the weather is ideal for bicycling the smooth
and secluded back roads or hiking along the peaceful
multi-use trails that wind through the county's scenic
landscape. In summer, area waters are ideal for boating,
canoeing, sailing, swimming, water-skiing,, or rocketing
down a slide at one of the nation's largest water parks. In
fall, hunters scan crisp, clear morning skies from the
seclusion of their duck blinds, others walk under a blaze of
color along the National Scenic Ice Age Trail. Winter
revelers enjoy snowmobiling along the county's 181 miles of
trail, backcountry skiing along the Wisconsin River for a
glimpse of bald eagles feeding in the open water, or
downhill skiing, tubing or snowboarding the slopes of one of
the state's finest ski resorts located here in Columbia
County.
Columbia
County offers many unique and exciting attractions and
activities, including the MacKenzie Environmental Center's
museums, nature trails and native wildlife exhibits
including a live herd of bison; the free Merrimac ferry ride
across the Wisconsin River near Lodi; farm markets and
antique shops sprinkled along the backroads; and numerous
historic sites and museums. And, with more full-size and
kid-sized putting greens combined than on the PGA circuit,
more waves than Ft. Lauderdale, and enough boat rides, shows
and games to rival Disneyworld, the Wisconsin Dells in
Columbia and Sauk Counties, offers entertainment and
adventure for the whole family.
Visitors to
Columbia County enjoy a broad selection of accommodations,
from beautiful full-service resorts and intimate bed and
breakfast inns to primitive campsites and rustic woodland
cottages.
For outdoor
fun, sports and adventure, as well as great
family entertainment, Columbia County offers it all. And
best of all, Columbia County is conveniently located in
south central Wisconsin - a convenient destination for
everyone!
Back to top
PARKS AND NATURE CENTERS
MacKenzie Environmental Center
Cty. Hwy CS/Q, Poynette
608-635-4351
The MacKenzie Environmental Center, operated by the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources, features native prairie,
with hiking trails, a native animal park with bison herd,
museum and interpretive center.
Wildlife Areas
Columbia County
Columbia County has 16 state-owned wildlife areas and a
federal waterfowl production area, many of which are open to
the public for wildlife observation as well as for hunting
and fishing in season. These include:
Columbus
Wetland
North of Columbus along the U.S. 151, 177 acres, mainly
wetland brush habitat suitable for deer, rabbit, pheasant,
fur-bearing animals, sandhill cranes and songbirds.
Dekorra
Wetland
Cty. Hwy. V south of Dekorra, 242 acres of wetlands small warm
water stream, grassland and forest habitats suitable for
deer, squirrel, grouse, turkey, rabbit, fur-bearing animals,
sandhill cranes, and songbirds.
Duck Creek
Wetland
Cty. Hwy. G, south of Wyocena, 160 acre wetlands, warm water
stream and grassland habitat suitable for deer, rabbit,
pheasant, fur-bearing animals, and songbirds.
French
Creek Wildlife Area
Cty. Hwy. F, north of Portage, this two-county area includes
3,152 acres of open marsh wetlands, upland grass fields,
lowland timber, shrub type wetlands and warm water stream
habitats suitable for ducks and geese, deer, squirrel,
rabbit, pheasant, fur-bearing animals, sandhill cranes,
herons, egrets, shorebirds and songbirds. Two man-made dikes
create flowages for waterfowl and fur-bearing animal
habitat. Some warm water fishing occurs in the flowages.
Grassy Lake
Wildlife Area
West side of Doylestown, 695 acres, including open water and
shrub/cattail marsh wetlands, hardwood timber and grassland
habitats suitable for waterfowl, squirrel, rabbit, grouse,
pheasant, fur-bearing animals, sandhill cranes, herons,
egrets, shorebirds, and songbirds.
Hampden
Wetland
Between Cty. Hwys. N and A west of Columbus, 229 acre tamarack
marshlands shrub/cattail wetland suitable for deer,
pheasant, fur-bearing animals and songbirds.
Jennings
Creek Wildlife Area
Old County Hwy. Z east of Rio, 530 acres including cold water
stream frontage, shrub wetlands hardwood forest, and conifer
timberland suitable for deer, grouse, turkey, squirrel,
rabbit, sandhill cranes, fur-bearing animals, songbirds and
trout.
Lodi Marsh
Area
Cty. Hwy. Y, south of Lodi, 1,044 acres in Columbia and Dane
counties combined, including cold water stream frontage,
shrub wetlands hardwood forest, cropland and grassland
fields suitable for deer, grouse, turkey, squirrel, rabbit,
pheasant, fur-bearing animals, sandhill cranes, songbirds
and trout.
Mud Lake
Wildlife Area
Between Cty. Hwy C and State Hwy. 22, southwest of Rio, 2,139
acres of large wetlands, hardwood forest, grassland fields,
cropland and shrub wetlands, suitable for waterfowl, deer,
pheasant, grouse, turkey, squirrel, rabbit, sandhill cranes,
fur-bearing animals, herons, shorebirds, and songbirds. Two
man-made dikes enhance water levels of the large wetlands to
improve waterfowl habitat.
Paradise
Marsh Wildlife Area
Between Cty. Hwys. CD, DG, and G north of.Fall River, 2,139
acres of warm water stream frontage with extensive cattail
and shrub marsh wetlands, hardwood timber, grassland fields
and cropland. Habitat is suitable for deer, squirrel,
rabbit, pheasant, fur-bearing animals, sandhill cranes,
herons and songbirds.
Pine Island
Wildlife Area
Located along the Wisconsin River southwest of Portage, 5,022
acres in Columbia and Sauk Counties combined, includes
cattail and shrub marshes, lowland hardwood, grassland
fields, cropland, river islands and native prairie habitats
suitable for deer, pheasant, squirrel, rabbit, turkey,
grouse, ducks, geese, fur-bearing animals, sandhill cranes,
herons and songbirds. Property includes a close area and
wildlife refuge in which all hunting is prohibited during
the waterfowl hunting season. Organized dog trial and dog
training activities are allowed in designated areas by
permit.
Springville
Wildlife Area
Cty. Hwys. P and SS between Pardeeville and Cambria, 2,841
acres with warm water stream frontage, extensive ditched
wetlands, cattail/shrub marsh, grassland fields, pheasant,
rabbits, ducks, geese, fur-bearing animals, sandhill cranes,
herons and songbirds.
Swan Lake
Wildlife Area
Cty. Hwys. P and G, southeast of Portage,1,624 acres with
extensive cattail marshes, lowland aspen woodland, shrub
wetlands, grassland, and a 1.5 mile dike for water level
control, suitable for deer, pheasant, rabbits, ducks,
fur-bearing animals, sandhill cranes, herons, shorebirds and
songbirds.
Hinkson
Creek Fishery
Near Cty. Hwy. J northwest of Poynette, 160 acres of shrub and
wetland along the Hinkson Creek trout stream with brown and
brook trout, deer, squirrel, grouse, fur-bearing animals,
sandhill cranes and songbirds.
Rowan Creek
Fishery
From Cty. Hwys. J and CS west of Poynette, along Rowan Creek.,
650 acres of cold water stream frontage, shrub wetland and
lowland hardwood habitat suitable for deer, grouse,squirrel,
rabbit, sandhill cranes, fur-bearing animals, songbirds and
limited waterfowl use.
Rocky Run
Creek Fishery
Located southwest of Wyocena between State Hwy. 22 and U.S.
51, 750 acres of cold water stream frontage, shrub wetlands,
upland hardwood forest, grassland fields and some cropland.
The stream provides a fishery for brown trout. Habitat is
suitable for deer, grouse, turkey, squirrel, rabbit,
sandhill cranes, fur-bearing animals, songbirds and limited
waterfowl use.
Federal
Waterfowl Production Areas
Located between Rio and North Leeds, west and southwest of
Doylestown, 1,360 acres in three separate areas provide
wetland and grassland habitat for ground-nesting ducks,
specifically mallards and blue-winged teal. These areas also
provide habitat for deer, pheasants, fur-bearing animals,
sandhill cranes, heron, shorebirds and songbirds; and, are
open for public hunting.
Lake Wisconsin
Cty- Hwy. CS, Poynette
More than just a wide spot in the Wisconsin River, Lake
Wisconsin is 9,000 acres of unlimited water activities,
including sailing, swimming, boating, water-skiing, and
canoeing. Fish taken here include sturgeon, panfish,
walleye, bass, northern and lunker muskies. Accessible from
a number of boatlandings, resorts and campgrounds, Lake
Wisconsin is Central Wisconsin's natural water fun center.
Wisconsin
River
Wisconsin Dells to Portage
Running approximately 19 miles from Wisconsin Dells to
Portage, the Wisconsin River is a great place to float,
boat, canoe, sail or swim. Accessible from numerous public
and private boat landings and launching ramps along the way,
during low water periods, the river has many sand bars to
lounge on and shallows to wade in. Under these conditions,
canoes and small boats that can be dragged over sandbars are
recommended. Fishing enthusiasts will find sturgeon, bass,
panfish, northern, walleye, muskie and more in these waters.
Back to
top
MUSEUMS AND
HISTORIC SITES
Indian Agency House
Agency House Rd., Portage
608-742-6362
Built at the conclusion of the Black Hawk War by the United
States Government in 1832 as a residence for John Kinzie,
Indian Agent to the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), the Agency House
was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in
1978. Located on its original site above the canal built
almost twenty years later, the house is furnished with
American antiques dating no later than 1833, including the
piano Juliette Kinzie brought to her new home in the
wilderness. Owned and operated by the National Society of
Colonial Dames of America, the Agency House is open daily
May 15 to October 15 from 10 am. to 4 pm., Sundays from 11
am. to 4 pm.
Portage Canal
Portage
Centuries before the arrival of the first European explorers,
Native American Indians traveling and transporting goods
from the Northern Atlantic Seacoast to the Gulf of Mexico
via the St. Lawrence/Fox and Wisconsin/Mississippi River
Routes, were forced to stop and portage their boats and
cargoes across a narrow neck of land lying between the Fox
and Wisconsin Rivers at present day Portage.
In 1792,
Laurant Barth built a trading post and started an overland
portaging enterprise, followed by Jean Lecuyer, who handled
the Fox Terminal with a team of oxen. In 1810 Francis Leroi
took over the entire business, dragging large keel boats,
bateaux, canoes and contents weighing up to 10 tons over the
mud and bog for $10 empty plus $.50 per hundred pounds of
merchandise. After the Black Hawk War, as European settlers
flooded in to farm and harvest the area's natural resources,
the Fox/Wisconsin routes and the portage point between them
became increasingly more important for trade and travel.
Designed to ease congestion and reduce prohibitive portaging
fees, the current canal was dug by hand in 1849-51. With
arrival of the railroad in 1857, commercial use of the canal
dwindled, even before the Army Corps of Engineers began
final improvements after the end of the Civil War. From the
late 1800's on, the canal was largely used by recreational
boaters, peaking with 1,461 lockages in 1908, dropping to 8
lockages in 1950. For want of use, the government closed the
canal to traffic and the locks were welded shut in 1951.
Surgeon's Quarters
Ft. Winnebago, Portage
608-742-2949
The Surgeon's Quarters is the last remaining structure of
historic Ft. Winnebago, one of a string of forts established
along the Fox/ Wisconsin River Route during the Black Hawk
War. Overlooking the site where Louis Joliet and Fr. Jacques
Marquette left the Fox River at the east end of Wauona Trail
in 1673, the Fort and Surgeon's Quarters were built in 1828
and used as a military base until 1845. Operated by the
Daughters the of American Revolution, the Surgeon's Quarters
museum is open from 10 am. to 4 pm., seven
days a week, from May 15 to October 15.
Back to top
POINTS
OF INTEREST
Historic Portage
Portage
Commercial District
In the 1860's, Portage's downtown retail district was the hub
of Central Wisconsin's burgeoning commercial activity. Many
of the buildings active then have been preserved in their
original Victorian architecture, providing a colorful
background for the busy retail area of today.
Society Hill
This residential district of 138 buildings was home to the
city's early prominent citizens. Many of the buildings are
made of yellow Portage brick and were constructed between
1870 and 1910. The Society Hill District contains the homes
of two Portage Pulitzer Prize winners: Playwright Zona Gale,
and Historian Frederick Jackson Taylor.
Church Hill
District
Containing six early churches and many prestigious homes built
between 1855 and 1930, the Church Hill District is only two
blocks from downtown Portage.
Industrial
Waterfront District
Containing commercial buildings constructed around the Portage
Canal in the midto-late 19th Century, including the landmark
Feed Mill built in 1861 ' the Waterfront District's
buildings still convey the colorful and lively "can-do"
spirit of life along the canal in its heyday.
Pauquette Park
W. Conant Street, Portage
608-742-2178
This 8.8 acre park is the most picturesque of Portages many
beautiful public parks. Named after the famous fur-trader
Pierre Pauquette who operated a ferry from 1828 to 1857, the
park features two shelters, each with water and electricity,
picnic tables, play equipment, a skating and fishing pond,
walking path, flower gardens, a Victorian band gazebo; and,
a bridal arch erected near the spot where a couple on their
honeymoon missed the turn and drowned in the pond, inspiring
Pulitzer Prize winner, Zona Gale's short story "Bridal
Pond."
Back to
top
|
